Winnie the Pooh cosplays as Yuzuru Hanyu for new plushie collaboration

Apparently it’s not a bother at all for Pooh Bear to dress up like the Japanese skating star.

Yuzuru Hanyu’s fondness for Winnie the Pooh is well known, and the Japanese figure skating legend’s fanbase has created a tradition of showering the ice with plushies of the character after his performances. But is Pooh Bear himself one of Hanyu’s fans?

That might seem like an impossible question to answer, given that Winnie the Pooh, like most fictional animated characters, isn’t in the habit of giving interviews. But as they say, actions speak louder than words, and so it’s probably safe to say that Pooh likes Hanyu too, since he’s now cosplaying as the skater.

Publisher Kodansha is getting set to release To Pooh-san: Yuzuru Hanyu and Pooh-san Memory Book. The 40-page book contains a photo collection and exclusive interview with Hanyu, and to sweeten the deal, it comes bundled with a 20.5-centimeter (8.1-inch) tall Winnie the Pooh plushie. For this collaboration, Pooh is forgoing his customary red polo shirt and instead going with more fantastic fashions.

The plushie comes with two outfits, recreating the costumes worn by Hanyu at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where he won the second of his gold medals. The ensemble Pooh is wearing in the above image is the same as the one Hanyu wore for his free-skate program to the musical piece titled “Seimei.”

And if you change Pooh into his alternate included set of clothes, he’ll match what Hanyu was wearing for his short program skate to Chopin’s “Ballade No. 1.”

Also part of the package are a 51.5 x 72.8-centimeter poster and reproduction of a handwritten note that Yuzuru penned to Pooh.

Kodansha is asking 22,000 yen (US$138) for To Pooh-san: Yuzuru Hanyu and Pooh-san Memory Book and its bundled merch, and all units are being produced to order. On the one hand, that means that pre-ordering is required, but it also means that actual fans are guaranteed to be able to purchase the set without having to go through a scalper.

▼ Yuzuru posing with Pooh dressing as Yuzuru…honestly, this does seem like a missed opportunity for the skater to have worn the bear’s shirt.

Pre-orders are open between now and October 20 through Amazon Japan and Rakuten (here and here), with Amazon listing shipping as slated for late May of 2027. And if you need even more Yuzuru Hanyu/Winnie the Pooh crossover merch, there’s the pair’s also recently revealed Shower of Heart collection.

Source, images: PR Times
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